Anna Seghers: do Exílio de si ao Nome próprio

Abstract

This dissertation intends, throught a study of the novel Transit and the short story The Excursion of the Dead Girls, by the german writer Anna Seghers, to investigate totalitarianism and its consequences, more especifically, the exile. Hospitality, hostility, the perception of the foreigner as an intruder and his isolation in himself are relevant themes in the context of exile. The biographical space is also explored in Seghers’ narratives, since the autobiographical elements are characteristic in the author’s literature, which serves as testimony and as archive of an important period of the 20th century. Anna Seghers inserts facts of her life and even her name in her texts. When a name is signed someone may be held accountable. The author signs her name and this way she resists. Anna Seghers’ literature serves a greater purpose than just the telling of her individual experience. It serves to strenghten moral conscience of the entire society.